Welcome to Compliance Calendar LLP: Your Trusted Partner for Transfer and Transmission of Shares. We understand that the transfer and transmission of shares is a critical aspect of corporate governance. Whether you are a company looking to facilitate the transfer of shares between shareholders or a shareholder undergoing a transmission process due to inheritance or other circumstances, our experienced team is here to assist you. As a leading legal and compliance firm, we specialize in handling secretarial assignments, including seamless and compliant transfer and transmission of shares.
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Legal Genesis on Transfer/ Transmission of Shares
Transfer of ownership is possible by transfer of shareholding or Share by any person or group of persons in favour of another person or group of persons. In India as well as outside India, companies run by share capital funds either corporates or small business enterprises. Shares are defined under the Companies Act 2013 Section 2 (84) "share" means a share in the share capital of a company and includes stock. Shares are like any other goods. A purchaser gets no better title than the seller. Share Transfer is a statutory Right in India and regulated by its Article of Association.
What is Share Transfer?
Transfer of shares is a transaction resulting in a change of share ownership. A shareholder, whether in public or private company, has a property in his share which he has a right to dispose of, subject only to any express restriction which may be found in the articles of the company.
Are Shareholders and Members same or different?
Normally, it is considered that every shareholder is a member, and every member is a shareholder. However, it may be possible that a person may be a holder of share by transfer but would not become member until the transfer is registered in the books of company in his favour and his name is entered in the register of members (MGT-1) under the Companies Act 2013. In the same way, a member who has transferred his shares, though he does not hold any shares continues to be member of the company until the transfer is registered and his name is removed from the register of members maintained by the company under section 88 of the Companies Act, 2013.
A person holding equity shares of a company and whose name is entered in the records of a depository as a beneficial owner of the share is deemed to be a member of the company and when he desires to transfer the share to another person he can do so.
Shares in a Private Limited And Public Company
Basic Conditions Before Transfer Depend Upon-
Two important elements or factor or conditions must be required before a person can acquire membership of a company-
When initiating the process of share transfer or share transmission, certain documents are typically required. While the specific documentation may vary depending on case-to-case basis and individual circumstances, here are some common documents often requested:
Share Transfer:
Share Transmission:
Bonus Points: It is important to note that the specific documents and requirements may vary based on the jurisdiction and the unique circumstances surrounding the share transfer or transmission. It is advisable to consult with compliance professionals/ company secretaries at Compliance Calendar LLP to ensure compliance with the specific regulations applicable to your situation.
The following is the step-by-step process to transfer of Shares:
Step 1 – Give a notice in writing to convey intention to transfer the share to the Company
Transferor(s) and/or Transferee(s) need to intimate to the company for desire of transfer shares and after receipt of such notice, the company has to notify the other members regarding the availability of such shares and the price as determined by the directors or the auditors of the company.
Step 2 – Drafting & Execution of Transfer Deed and Shareholders Agreement
Transferor(s) and/or Transferee(s) need to execute the instrument of transfer as per Rule 11 of the Companies Act 2013 in "Form SH-4". Shareholders agreement shall also be executed along with all terms & conditions specified regarding transfer from one to another. The signatures of the transferor and the transferee in the share transfer deed must be witnessed by a person giving his signature, name, and address.
Step 3 – Payment of Stamp Duty on SH-4
The Stamp duty is payable “by the person drawing, making or executing such instrument” SH-4. As regards stamp duty, it is not disputed that there was no previous talk between the parties on this point, though ordinarily and as a matter of law in case of transfer of shares, it is the vendor by whom the stamp duty is payable.
Transfer Deed should be duly stamped as per Indian Stamp Act, 1899 with stamp duty (currently 0.015%) paid on market value or consideration amount, whichever is higher. But, in some state’s duty is payable in form of franking of transfer deed. For this transfer deed along with a letter addressed to the Additional Collector (Stamps) is to be submitted to General Stamp Office. A court fees of Rupees five is also to be paid and do not forget to cancel the stamps affixed at the time or before signing of the transfer deed. The transferor is responsible to affix and cancel the stamps.
Step 4 – Issue or Endorsement of Share Certificate (SH-1)
Share Certificate in the format of SH-1 (as specified at very first time in the Companies Act 2013) must be issued to the transferee within one month from the receipt of Share Transfer Instrument called SH-4 by the Company.
If the original share certificate has been lost, the shareholder needs to lodge FIR for the loss of share certificate. Such letter should contain all details available with the shareholder pertaining to his shareholding and the respective share certificate. A copy of such letter and FIR should be duly deposited with the concerned company.
Step-5: Submit the documents to company
Transfer Deed along with original share certificate must be lodged with the company, or if no such share certificate exists then a letter of allotment must be lodged with the company along with the instrument of transfer.
Step 6 – Hold Board meeting and pass the Resolution
On receipt of documents under step 5 the company shall duly hold a board meeting as per Section 173 for approving the share transfer and pass appropriate resolution to the said effect. The Company shall also be guided by its Articles as to the requirement of holding a Board Meeting.
In case of a company, where a Share Transfer Committee/Committee of Directors (refer the Terms of Reference), has been duly constituted, the said transfer shall first be approved by the said committee of the Board and thereafter sent for final approval to the maim Board.
Step-6: Make necessary entry in the Register of transfer in the record of the Company
Entries in the register constitute prima facie evidence of the particulars entered therein. As such, the register should be updated once change in the ownership of shares occurs by transfer or if any change in any other particulars to be entered in the register is intimated to the company.
Entries in the register should be authenticated by the secretary of the company or by any other person authorized by the Board for the purpose, by appending his signature to each entry.
Step 7 - Refusal or Acceptance of Transfer by Board
As per Section 58 of the Companies Act 2013 and Articles of Association the Board has the power to reject the transfer of shares.
The private company may refuse to register the transfer in this case and send notice to the Transferor/ Transferee/ person giving intimation within 30 days from the date when instrument of transfer was delivered to the company, stating reasons for refusal or Acceptance If the company accepts and registers the transfer then it shall issue Share Certificate within one month from the date of receipt of instrument of transfer in the name of Transferee and shall make necessary changes in the Register of Members.
Step 7 – Reporting to ROC in form MGT-7 through Annual Compliance
There is no such notice or intimation required to be given to Registrar of Companies. However, the Share Transfer details shall be given to Registrar of Companies (ROC) in Annual Return Compliance of the company in Form MGT-7/7A for transferring the partly paid up shares of a company which are not held in electronic form. Company can attach Transfer details along with the list of Shareholders in the form itself.
Section 56 of Companies Act, 2013 and Sub-Rule (1) Of Rule 11 of Companies (Share Capital and Debentures) Rules, 2014 deals with the share Transfer in the Company. A Company having share capital, other than the transfer between persons both of whose names are entered as holders of beneficial interest in the records of a depository. An instrument of transfer of securities held in physical form shall be file in Form No. SH-4. In case of Listed Company more provision needs to comply under-
A company shall not register a transfer of partly paid shares, unless the company has given a notice in Form No. SH.5 to the transferee and the transferee has given no objection to the transfer within two weeks from the date of receipt of notice.
Post Compliance After Transfer of Shares-
Maintenance of Register of Share Transfer By The Company
Every company should, from the date of its registration, maintain a register of share transfers and enter therein particulars of every share transferred. The register is not open for inspection by anyone. The register should be preserved permanently and should be kept in the custody of the secretary of the company, or any other person authorized by the Board for the purpose.
Register of Share Transfer Should Contain Below Particulars:
Due Diligence on Register of Transfer Whether:
Details of nomination forms have been noted if any.
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If all documents are available by both the parties (Transferor and Transferee), it can be completed within a week time. Board meeting time is not included which is subject to the board approval
Where a resolution was passed expelling a member and authorizing the director to register the transfer of his shares without an instrument of transfer, the resolution was held to be invalid as being against the provisions of the Act [Madhava Ramachandra Kamath v. Canara Banking Corporation [1941] 11 Com Cases 78 (Mad)].
The capital of a company is divided into parts, called shares. The shares are said to be movable property and subject to certain conditions as contained in the Companies Act and/or the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company, the shares of a company are a transferable property. In the case of a private company, the Companies Act requires it to put certain restrictions on the transferability of shares. Every member owning fully paid shares is at liberty to dispose of them off according to his choice but subject to the Articles of Association of the company. In the case of a public company, the shares are freely transferable.
Provisions of Sub Section 1 of Section 56 (Transfer of Shares) are not applicable on Government Company in respect of Securities held by nominees of the Government. The requirement of execution of an instrument of transfer (SH-4) and delivering the same to the company has also been done away with in case of transfer of securities held between nominees of the Government.
As per Rule 5(2) of the Companies (Share Capital and Debentures) Rules, 2014 share certificate is required to be in Form SH-1. The rule prescribed that such format should be in Form SH-1 or as near thereto.
The person desirous of becoming a member of a company must have the legal capacity of entering into an agreement in accordance with the provisions of Section 11 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872.
“Every person is competent to contract, who is of the age of majority according to the law to which he is subject and who is of sound mind and is not disqualified from contracting by any law to which he is subject.”
It is abundantly clear that no one can become a member unless he has agreed in writing to become a member of the company. In case of Share transfer by executing an instrument of transfer of shares as transferee can be a Member in the CompanyIn case of death, transmission of shares needs to be done. The legal representative of a deceased member can transfer any security or interest owned by the deceased member, even though he himself is not a holder of the said security or interest. A succession certificate may also be required in this case
Where any default is made in complying with the provisions of sub-section (1) to (5), the company shall be punishable with fine which shall not be less than twenty-five thousand rupees but which may extend to five lakh rupees and every officer of the company who is in default shall be punishable with fine which shall not be less than ten thousand rupees but which may extend to one lakh rupees.
Any person who is found to be guilty of fraud, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months, but which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine which shall not be less than the amount involved in the fraud, but which may extend to three times the amount involved in the fraud.
Where fraud involves public interest, the term of imprisonment shall not be less than three yearsTransfer Deed should be duly stamped as per Indian Stamp Act, 1899 with stamp duty (currently 0.015%) paid on market value or consideration amount, whichever is higher. But, in some state’s duty is payable in form of franking of transfer deed.
The Stamp duty is payable “by the person drawing, making or executing such instrument” SH-4.
No. It is not a legal requirement in case of share transfer. However, Company optionally may file the form MGT-14 for their record of Transfer of share in ROC data.
As per the pre-emption clause in the Articles, shares are to be offered to other members at a price certified by the directors or auditors.
If the valuer has in fact acted negligently and failed to account for all the necessary factors for arriving at the value of shares, the transferor has the right to institute legal proceedings against such valuer for any damages caused due to improper valuation of shares.Note: Transfer of shares from or by erstwhile OCBs would require prior approval of the Reserve Bank of India.
(i) Gift: A person resident outside India can transfer any security to a person resident in India by way of gift.
(ii) Sale under private arrangement: General permission is also available for transfer of shares / convertible debentures, by way of sale under private arrangement by a person resident outside India to a person resident in India in case where transfer of shares are under SEBI regulations and where the FEMA pricing guidelines are not met, subject to the following
Note: Transfer of shares from a Non Resident to Resident other than under SEBI regulations and where the FEMA pricing guidelines are not met would require the prior approval of the Reserve Bank of India.
(iii) Sale of shares/ convertible debentures on the Stock Exchange by person resident outside India: A person resident outside India can sell the shares and convertible debentures of an Indian company on a recognized Stock Exchange in India through a stockbroker registered with stock exchange or a merchant banker registered with SEBI.
A person resident in India can transfer by way of sale, shares / convertible debentures (including transfer of subscriber's shares), of an Indian company under private arrangement to a person resident outside India, subject to the following along with pricing, reporting and other guidelines given in Annex - 3.
i). No Objection Certificates (NOCs) are obtained from the respective regulators/regulators of the investee company as well as the transferor and transferee entities and such NOCs are filed along with the Form FC-TRS with the AD bank; and
ii). The FDI policy and FEMA Regulations in terms of sectoral caps, conditionalities(such as minimum capitalization, etc.), reporting requirements, documentation etc., are complied with.
Note: The above general permission also covers transfer by a resident to a non-resident of shares / convertible debentures of an Indian company, engaged in an activity earlier covered under the Government Route but now falling under Automatic Route of the Reserve Bank, as well as transfer of shares by a non-resident to an Indian company under buyback and / or capital reduction scheme of the company. However, this general permission would not be available for the above transactions if they are not meeting the pricing guidelines or in case of transfer of shares / debentures by way of gift from a Resident to a Non-Resident / Non-Resident IndianTransfer of shares or convertible debentures from residents to non-residents by way of sale requires prior approval of Reserve Bank in case where the non-resident acquirer proposes deferment of payment of the amount of consideration.
Further, if approval is granted for the transaction, the same should be reported in Form FC-TRS to the AD Category – I bank, within 60 days from the date of receipt of the full and final amount of considerationThe issue of a share certificate refers to the initial issuance of a share certificate by a company to a shareholder, serving as proof of ownership. It establishes legal rights over the shares and includes details such as the shareholder's name, share class, and distinctive number. On the other hand, the endorsement of a share certificate involves transferring ownership from one shareholder to another by endorsing the back of the existing certificate. It signifies the intent to transfer ownership but does not result in the issuance of a new share certificate. Additional steps, such as executing a share transfer deed, are required to complete the transfer process and issue a new share certificate in the name of the new shareholder
As per the format of the share certificate i.e. Form SH-1, the following details are required:
On the front of the Share Certificate
On the reverse (Opposite side) of the Share Certificate
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